Howling' Steve Thomas on the Important Things

Saturday, September 03, 2016

"I am never sure whether I should lament the state of the world or be complacent about it. For on the one hand everything is going to the dogs and on the other I am a happy man." Theodore Dalrymple, writing in Taki Mag.

I still support Trump. My reasons have not changed. I did my civic duty and wrote up a long winded essay explaining why I support The Donald a while ago. Go read it if you're so inclined.

I volunteered to work in a presidential campaign once... the Gene McCarthy Kids' Crusade in 1968. Anti-Vietnam war candidate.

Nobody seems to notice that Trump is, relatively speaking, the anti-war candidate in this election. Yeah, I know... how in the hell can you tell what a candidate is really going to do once he assumes office?

Trump has suggested that we might pull back from policing the world and invading other countries to focus mostly on self-defense. I'm down with that. Hillary, on the other hand, has already knocked over a couple of foreign nations... the Ukraine and Libya.

I'm still trying to stay out of the fray. My life will continue to be fine, no matter who wins or loses. I think. Each side keeps trying to tell me the End is Near if their loathed opponent wins.

I'm an internet idiot like anybody else. Catch me on a day when I'm tired, or tired of being lonely, and I'll tear some Hillary supporter a new asshole and fight and bitch for hours. I regret it later, but what can I do? I am but a sinner.

Life is too good for me to get caught up in the histrionics.

I'm just a retired Mr. Mom Grandpa. I never wanted to run the world. Shit, I never even wanted to be a manager in an office. On a few occasions, I somehow found myself fulfilling that function. Be damned if I know how or why that happened. I failed as miserably as I could and got out as fast as I could.

Life is pretty damned good. Getting ready to move into my Mr. Mom Grandpa in-law apartment. Cleaning up the house and getting it ready to go on the market. Health returning to normal.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

I was falling asleep on Interstate 80 after about two hours of driving through the mountains in Pennsylvania during my road trip to Illinois, so I hit the exit for coffee and donuts at Hazleton.

"Why does the name of this town sound familiar?" I wondered. "Aha!"

The Chicago Tribune has published many an article about Joe Maddon's charity work in his hometown.

So, I decided to try to find some markers commemorating what must be Hazleton's most famous boy. I stopped at the Dunkin Donuts and asked the local boys for some guidance.

"Any signs or monuments for Maddon around town?"

They directed me to the high school. I found the sign in the pic there.

Madden has become quite the matinee idol in Chicago. He unexpectedly took the Cubs to the National League Championship Series last year, just short of making the World Series. He's a laid back 60s hippie. The young players on the team seem to idolize him as a father figure.

I attended a Cubs' game at Wrigley. When the Cubs were about to take the field, the PA announcer intoned: "And now, let's hear it for Joe Maddon's Chicago Cubs!"

I wonder how long the honeymoon will last for Maddon in Chicago? Lou Piniella and Dusty Baker were celebrated as saviors who would end the curse, too. But, the media and the fans turned on both when they failed to deliver a championship.

For now, Maddon is riding high and pulling down $5 million a year in the most glamorous job in Chicago. A great life story for a boy from a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania.

I'm a small town boy... Watseka, Illinois, population 5,500. Hazleton boasts about 25,000 souls. Back when I was a kid, I would have considered that a big city.

Saturday, June 04, 2016

I really don't measure my life in relationship to celebrity. There was a time in my life when I actually knew a lot of celebrities... musicians and media people. None of them were really close friends, just business acquaintances. So, Muhammad Ali died at the age of 74. What's that got to do with me?

I certainly look at the celebrity obits. How can you help that? My Facebook page already sports dozens of references to Ali's death, with each friend relating their bit about how and when he affected their lives.

My main interest in the celebrity obit nowadays is... How old was the deceased? This gives me an opportunity to revise my guess-ti-mate of just how long I have left before I croak.

Ali croaked at age 74... an average age for a man. 82 seems to be the favorite age for male dying.

How did the great fighter affect my life?

Back in the day, let's say around 1968, he was an anti-war icon with his "No Vietcong ever called me nigger" quote. This seemed incredibly brilliant to me at the age of 18, although it now seems like incoherent nonsense.

I chased around celebrity musicians in Woodstock way way back in the late 70s and 80s in the hope that they could do something to help me in my ambitions. Quite a few of those musicians have since kicked the bucket, and none of them did me a bit of good. Some of them did thoroughly enjoy playing the S&M game of pissing on me for chasing after them. A few of them asked me to work for them for free.

I did not attend the funerals of any of these musician celebrities. Many of the supporting cast musicians in Woodstock did in the forlorn hope that this would be a last chance for some of the sheen of celebrity to rub off on them.

Celebrity is so cheap nowadays. Back in the 60s and 70s, celebrity was a rare thing because media was limited. So, the celebrity figures of the 60s and 70s seemed bigger than life.

No more.

In the era of super mass media on the internet, Warhol's "Everybody will be famous for 15 minutes" maxim is literally true. Celebrities abound. I no longer even make the attempt to keep up.

I am content now to face the future of dying in anonymity. We all die alone.

When Myrna was dying in the hospital, I tried at first to rally all her friends and associates to visit her at the hospital. But, I quickly observed that neither she nor they really wanted that. Death is an intensely private and not very pretty thing. Myrna wanted to be left alone with me holding her hand in her last moments.

Only a handful of people really care for us during our lives. This is not a negative reflection on people. Intimacy is difficult and time consuming. We don't have the ability to care for a broad swath of humanity.

I will also die alone, with maybe my daughter at my bedside. Nobody will notice much that I am gone, and that's fine, too.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

On a night when the Cubs finally lost two games in a row, the announcers had to find something to talk about. They spent considerable time discussing Joe West, a legendary umpire. He's been umping in the National League since 1976. That would be 40 years.

West has a couple of interesting sidelines. He's a recorded country singer, and has appeared as an opening act for Mickey Gillie and the late Merle Haggard. Below, the only video I could find of him. Don't quit your day job, Joe!

For the obvious reasons, he's known as Cowboy Joe.

West didn't get any love from the Cubs' hitters as they lost the second game of a double header to the San Diego Padres. Pretty wide strike zone, particularly on the inside corner for right handed hitters.

Cowboy Joe's other sideline is designing and selling umpiring protective gear. Looks like premium stuff. His stuff is endorsed by MLB and worn by 90% of MLB umps.

On his website, you'll find a couple of country CDs you can buy.

I got back up on the bicycle today and did 10 miles. Pretty easy ride. Coming back from illness is tricky for an old man. First thing to do is make sure you don't hurt yourself.

Monday, April 04, 2016

The Cubs are odds on favorites to win the World Series this year. The Lovable Losers open up the 2016 season tonight against the Anaheim Angels. This is a potentially historic season according to the Chicago Tribune. Not the first rodeo for this 66 year old Cubs' fan, so let me remind you of other great Cubs' teams that never won anything. Fergie Jenkins, starting pitcher on the '69 Cubs, comments on the fantastic collapse of that team:

The 2016 Cubs are definitely loaded. Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jayson Hayward and Jon Lester are probably future Hall of Famers. The 1969 team was loaded too, with four future Hall of Famers... Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Ron Santo. That group never won even a division title. So, excuse me if I am not convinced that being "loaded" on paper guarantees championships.

Among the many explanations for the legendary Cub's collapse in 1969 is that Leo Durocherdrove the team to exhaustion with his demanding old school managerial tactics. The 2016 club is supposed to be immune to this problem because manager Joe Maddon is such a laid back guy.

Excuse me for being a pessimist. I'm a lifelong Cubs' fan.

Memorable collapses in the 1984, 1989, 2007 and 2008 playoffs barely rate a mention, because none of those teams were expected to dominate or were full of future Hall of Famers.

The other legendary playoff collapse occurred, of course, in 2003. Dusty Baker was manager of that team, and he's supposed to be the ultimate players' manager. He's back this year managing the Washington Nationals, and he's supposed to cure a toxic clubhouse environment that has undermined a star studded team.

Mark Pryor and Kerry Woods led what was purported to be an pitching staff for the ages in 2003. Two of the greatest pitching prospects ever to play for the Cubs, both flamed out in careers dramatically shortened by injury.

But, it was the Bartman game in the National League Championship game that typifies the more than century old futility of the Cubs. Poor Steve Bartman! That collapse was not at all his fault. No, the villain was Alex Gonzalez, the journeyman shortstop who botched an easy double play ball. Had he made that play, the Cubs probably would have finished off the Marlins and advanced to the World Series. Below, video of that fateful 8th inning that doomed the Cubs.

Gonzalez' stone cold choke on that double play ball occurs at the 1:32 mark. Pryor had induced none other than Miguel Cabrera to hit a ground ball. The roof caved in after that play.

So, I go into the 2016 season hoping for the best and dreading the worst. That's the karma of a lifelong Cubs' fan. I fully expect this team to win the Central Division, advance one or two rounds in the playoffs, and then blow it in some ignominiously memorable fashion. My old friend from the Earl of Old Town, Steve Goodman, had it right a long time ago. He was dying of cancer when he recorded this video.

My time on this earth is running out, Cubbies! My dad passed away without ever seeing the Cubs win the big one!

I'll be heading home mid-summer to take in a game at Wrigley. Shit, I'll be satisfied if the Cubs win a game that I attend. That's been a pretty rare occurrence.

Monday, March 07, 2016

My toddler granddaughter (almost 3!) loves all kinds of painting... finger painting, water color, felt tip pen on whiteboard, etc. She always asks me to paint with her, so we sit at the table and she tries to imitate my work. Today, I decided to draw a sort of compilation landscape of the objects we most commonly draw.

We're not just painting. She's learning about shapes, like straight lines, rectangles, triangles and circles, and about spatial relationships.

Being grandpa, playing with the kids and teaching them stuff is what life is all about right now. The twin babies are already 9 months old, crawling and soon will be walking.

Spring is arriving early in the Catskills. We'll all be outside playing soon.

Monday, February 22, 2016

My mother will turn 90 years old next fall. I'll be returning home to visit over the summer, to see a Cubs' game at Wrigley, and to take in some blues at Kingston Mines. Hard to believe that my first date with Myrna was almost 30 years ago at the blues club. The Cubs are in the unfamiliar position this year of starting their season as the favorites to win the World Series!

After I played at Kingston Mines, lo! 28 years ago, I decided to take Myrna on a tour of Wrigley. It was, of course, quite late, and half a foot of snow had fallen while we were at the club. We walked the mile and a half, with Myrna in her stiletto heels. When we reached Wrigley, she refused to slog any farther in the snow in her heels and insisted that I carry her on my shoulders. She only weighed 90 pounds, so I hoisted her up and we circled the empty stadium. After the tour we took a cab back to the hotel.

The Cubs are a very different franchise now, although they still are awaiting that elusive championship. The new owners, the Ricketts' family, made their fortune as owners of Ameritrade, which owns TD Bank, among other assets. Money is no object, as evidenced by the megabucks signings of Jon Lester, John Lackey and Jason Heyward. Last season, the outfield bleachers were demolished and completely rebuilt, and huge video screens were installed in right and left field. I attended a great Cubs/Cards game along with a full house and it was a tremendous experience.

Over the past winter, all the old concrete in the main grandstand at Wrigley has been replaced and, according to stories I have read, the bathrooms have been dramatically upgraded. I'll see whether the old trough style urinals remain.

My family is aging and dying out. My older sister is retiring. One of my cousins just suffered a stroke and appears on the way out. Obviously, my time on this earth is coming to an end.

My counsin's family was the brawling, hillbilly, alcoholic end of my mother's family. Wife, husband and siblings took turns beating the hell out of one another. They were a nightmare. And, yet, back in the bad old days nobody thought of calling the police, informing the authorities and breaking up the family. They were left alone. Today, the family would be torn apart by police and social service workers. The kids would be shunted off to foster homes. Some things were done better back in the bad old days. The kids, despite all the fighting and drinking, were better off for having remained with their family.

So, it's another sentimental journey home this summer. I'm thinking of taking in a Cubs/Mets game this time. These two teams seem likely to meet again this fall in the National League Championship Series.

I don't know who I'll see at Kingston Mines. It's a Chicago club that features West and South Side bands. Guys from touring bands stop in to jam, but the club is still a local scene. I'll probably just catch a set at random after the Cubs' game.

Monday, January 25, 2016

My determination to remain uncommitted to any politician or political movement is being tested, I admit, by The Donald. I've been fed up with PC censorship since... well, forever. The era of denunciation, informing, shushing and blacklisting has to end. Is Trump the one to do that? Should I focus on that as the primary concern in the upcoming election?

I'll go back to my oft-repeated mantra that I don't care that much who is president. My interest in Trump is based on the forlorn hope that he will deliver a knock out punch to the hate whitey crowd. I'm sure as hell not going to vote for a Democratic candidate. The organizing principle of that party is hatred of straight white men, i.e., me.

How does that madness affect me? (I always try to go back to that measurement.)

Not much. I've been retired and I haven't set foot in a corporate office in 3-1/2 years. Slugging it out with the Diversity enforcers is almost entirely in my past. I'm certainly not going to take up the crusade to defeat them or to drive them out of their apparatchik offices.

The closest I come to involvement in corporate America is watching professional sports. I watched an entire NFL game yesterday, Broncos vs. Pats, for the first time this season and I got the full dose. Especially the commercials... diversity propaganda at its finest. Every black family in a corporate commercial is Ozzie and Harriet.

Once again, why should I care? My family is doing well. My grandkids are being raised in a traditional All American household. I can turn off the TV any time I want. (And, I do. I sit in silence for days sometimes out in the woods in the Catskills.)

Political corruption in the U.S. is beginning to look similar to corruption in a Third World country. Hillary really does resemble Imelda Marcos. Clinton shamelessly uses political office as an opportunity to collect every available bride and payoff. Every agency of the Fed has been politicized under Obama and committed to stifling free speech and dissent.

Am I going to get on my white horse and fight that?

Probably not.

I'm tired even of the political arguments on Facebook. But, I spend so much time alone that the urge to simply converse with another human frequently overwhelms me. Against my better judgment, I go to Facebook for companionship. By default, the only thing I have in common to talk about with strangers is politics. So, back into the abyss.

From a policy standpoint, Trump is problematic. He's been all over the place, and he has no public record. Who in the hell knows what he would do once in office? (Of course, it's a crap shoot with any candidate, isn't it?)

I'm all in with Trump's announced determination to secure the southern border, to build a fence and to stop further Muslim immigration. Since I no longer want a job, the issue of illegal immigration means less than it once did. However, I am within striking distance of New York City and another major Jihadi attack on the city (which we all know is coming) would have a major impact on me and my family.

Can The Donald stop the Muslim invasion? Can he stop the era of PC censorship and Diversity enforcement?

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Four months until spring training! I'll probably subscribe to MLB.tv again. Just about all the games stream online for a $140 per year subscription. No commercials. I really like that. I followed the Cubs closely this year, because I could watch just about all their games.

I am not one of those patient, easy going loser Cubs' fans that the New York newspapers kept cackling about about during the National League Championship Series with the Mets. No, I was a mighty pissed Cubs' fan when the Lovable Losers were swept by the club's most bitter rival.

During the regular season, my day was built around the Cubs' game. That was my TV fix. Barely watched anything on cable. Streaming Netflix is my other source of TV entertainment. What a huge shift in delivery method! And everybody's doing it. At my girlfriend's house in suburban New Jersey, the demand for streaming data overwhelms the system during prime time.

Because of the internet, I of course follow my team all year round. The Cubs' MLB site keeps me up to date on the Top 30 Prospects. (Cubs' minor league system is loaded with position players. Minor league pitching won't start showing up in the majors until 2017.) Bleed Cubbie Blue is a good blog for keeping up with the off season rumors about how the roster will be structured next year.

Was I satisfied with the Cub's progress this season? Yes and No. The problem here is that the opportunity to advance to the World Series happens when it happens and teams have to seize that opportunity. This year, the Losers got a shot and they didn't seize it. So, Cub's history hasn't changed in that aspect. But, the boys did win a Division Series against the Cards.

I'm already looking at the 2016 Wrigley calendar. The Mets are in Chicago in July 2016. Cardinals and Pirates in August. I'm thinking of making a trip West, perhaps continuing out to Colorado for a 420 holiday. Am I too old to try to do that on my Harley?

The daily Cubs' story in the Tribune will be on hiatus until free agent signings and trades start being announced. Everybody says the Cubs will be looking for one or two starting pitchers. Who will they get? Will Dexter Fowler be back?

The Cubs will be worth watching just for the pleasure of observing Kris Bryant's development. I read a very optimistic prediction for his stats for next year... 37 HR, 130 RBI and a .305 batting average. I'll be surprised if he hits for that high average, but I'm down with the rest. I think that in the prime of his career Bryant might win a Triple Crown or two.

Joe Maddon has, I think, one more honeymoon year before the Chicago press turns bitchy. In 2016, the press will expect the team to win, and Maddon's "genius" designation will start to crumble... unless he can get the Cubs into the World Series.

I think the Cubs will be in the playoffs almost every year for the coming decade. Whether that translates into a World Series championship... who the hell knows?

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

Great year so far for the Cubs. They are on a trajectory to win 92 games and qualify for a Wild Card one game playoff against the Pirates. Since I didn't expect them to contend until next year, it's all gravy. So, why am I expecting a dreadful end to the season?

Above, Cubs' third baseman, Ron Santo, watches a black cat walk by as he waits in the on deck circle during a game against the Mets in the old Shea Stadium in 1969.

Mets' fans remember 1969 as the year of the Miracle Mets of Tom Seaver vintage. Cubs' fans remember 1969 as the year the team lead the National League by 8-1/2 games in August and ended the season trailing the Mets by 8 games. The Cubs' collapse was epic. Nothing quite captures the voodoo spell that descended upon the Cubs than this pic of Santo.

A Cubs' team that featured four future Hall of Famers... Santo, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Ernie Banks, couldn't finish off a playoff run.

I was only 19 years old during that fateful season. Yet to come was Leon Durham's error on a routine grounder that deep sixed the 1984 Cubs' playoff team... caused by a Gatorade spill!

And, then there was the Bartman game in 2003! When I attended a game at Wrigley back in July, I asked one of the ushers to point out Steve Bartman's seat. He told me that everybody asks the same questions. Five outs away from a World Series appearance, all hell broke loose.

Me and the Cubs have a long history of living with catastrophic collapses.

So, what's the next chapter? I'll believe the curse is over when the Cubs record the final out in a World Series victory.

Maybe this year's team is different. Joe Maddon was hired precisely because he knows how to take the pressure off young players. Next year might be the Cubs' breakout. The pressure hasn't really descended yet on this team. That will bear down on them when they finally reach a National League Championship Series and play at Wrigley in front of a crowd that anticipates another dramatic collapse.